Skip to content

Photos of the week | January 1-8, 2026

The fireworks show begins at midnight with the Washington Monument illuminated as a birthday candle on New Year’s Eve. The four-sided projection light show on the Washington Monument, plus fireworks, kicked off the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.
The fireworks show begins at midnight with the Washington Monument illuminated as a birthday candle on New Year’s Eve. The four-sided projection light show on the Washington Monument, plus fireworks, kicked off the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

We’re back for the new year, which will feature the nation’s 250th birthday as well as a high-stakes midterm election. Here are the images captured by CQ Roll Call’s photojournalists this week.

The Washington Monument is illuminated with an image of the moon landing on Sunday. The four-sided projection and light show on the Washington Monument was part of the official kickoff for the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn hugs Gladys Sicknick, left — the mother of Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer who died a day after being injured while responding to the riot — and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the Capitol Visitor Center on Tuesday during House Democrats’ hearing marking the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson arrives for the House Republican Conference meeting in the Capitol on Wednesday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Architect of the Capitol workers gather Christmas lights as decorations are removed from the Capitol Christmas Tree on Wednesday. A red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada served as the 2025 Capitol Christmas Tree. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Speaker Mike Johnson talks with reporters after a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on Wednesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth talk with reporters in the Senate subway on Wednesday while on the Hill with other administration officials to brief members of the House and Senate about the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., walks down the Senate steps as he leaves the Capitol after a vote on the Venezuela war powers resolution on Thursday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., center; her husband, Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, second from left; Arizona Democratic Reps. Greg Stanton, left, and Adelita Grijalva; and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., pose in the Capitol on Thursday after a joint resolution was introduced to honor the six people killed in 2011 in Tucson on the 15th anniversary of the shooting that also injured Giffords. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic Sens. Adam B. Schiff of California, right, and Tim Kaine of Virginia, left, leave the Senate Radio/TV Gallery studio on Thursday after their news conference in the Capitol on the Venezuela war powers resolution. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Recent Stories

Ohio’s Kaptur set for rematch with Merrin in bid for 23rd House term

Indiana GOP legislators who defied Trump on redistricting are defeated

Cassidy calls for expedited abortion pill review as primary nears

US military actions test Trump’s claim the Iran war is over

Trump shrugs off high gas prices, creating political headwinds for GOP

Reconciliation bill text would fund ICE, CBP, ballroom security